Telangana government sets up special panel to deal with sexual harassment in T’wood

I t’s official. Telangana became the first state in India to set up a first-of-its-kind committee to deal with complaints of sexual harassment in the Telugu film and TV industry. This
25-member high-level committee, headed by chairman of

Telangana State Film Development Corporation

, comprises of people from a cross section of society — doctors, educationists, women’s rights activists, government officials, SHE Teams personnel and renowned names from

Telugu cinema

are a part of this committee. “The government has asked us make a comprehensive list of problems faced by women in the industry and furnish a set of recommendations to take necessary action for protecting women artistes in film and television
industries. This is a welcome move and will pave the way to make Telugu entertainment industry a safe place for women,” shares director Nandini Reddy, who’s one of the members of
the committee.

TV actor Jhansi, producer Supriya Yarlagadda, film artistes Preeti Nigam, Sruthi, writer Paruchuri Gopalakrishna and senior filmmakers N Shankar and

Tammareddy Bharadwaja

are some of the other prominent Tollywood celebrities who are a part of this panel. The development has been welcomed by women’s rights organisations and actresses alike. Sri Reddy, who had raised the issue of sexual harassment and the casting couch menace in Tollywood with her nude protest last year, feels vindicated after the committee was constituted. Taking to Hyderabad Times, the actress shared, “It’s a very proud moment for me today. I want to thank the real hero of this story — kcr garu. my dream has finally come true today. After being
slut-shamed a year ago, now I feel like a heroine. Finally, I feel that my nude protest hasn’t gone in vain. For the past one year I suffered a lot. But today I feel it was all worth it,” she says, adding, “I want to thank some people who stood by me through it all — sandya, vasudha, sajaya, tej, Apoorva.”